Abstract
Cecropin B is a natural antimicrobial peptide and CB1a is a custom, engineered modification of it. In vitro, CB1a can kill lung cancer cells at concentrations that do not kill normal lung cells. Furthermore, in vitro, CB1a can disrupt cancer cells from adhering together to form tumor-like spheroids. Mice were xenografted with human lung cancer cells; CB1a could significantly inhibit the growth of tumors in this in vivo model. Docetaxel is a drug in present clinical use against lung cancers; it can have serious side effects because its toxicity is not sufficiently limited to cancer cells. In our studies in mice: CB1a is more toxic to cancer cells than docetaxel, but dramatically less toxic to healthy cells.
Highlights
IntroductionIt is the leading cancer in terms of incidence and mortality
CB1a was applied to small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells (NCI-H146) and to non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells (A549, NCI-H209, NCI-H460, NCI-H520)
CB1a toxicity can be selective to cancer cells In vitro, CB1a can kill lung cancer cells at concentrations that do not kill normal lung cells
Summary
It is the leading cancer in terms of incidence and mortality. The causes of lung cancer are incompletely understood. It has been associated with a number of environmental factors such as cigarette smoke [3], air pollution [4] and contact with certain chemicals (e.g. benzene, dioxins, etc) [5]. Lung cancer has an incredibly high mortality rate; it is often diagnosed too late because it is difficult to detect in its early stages, when it is more curable [6,7,8]. One way of reducing deaths from lung cancer is to reduce people’s exposure to the aforementioned environmental risk factors. There is an urgent need for a drug that can kill lung cancer cells, and/or halt their proliferation, but that has a low toxicity to non-cancerous cells
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